


undetermined [the fourth reset]

by rocketgills



Series: You Climbed the Mountain, You're at the Top, Now What? [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Depression, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 13:59:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7225180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocketgills/pseuds/rocketgills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk breaks for the first time.</p><p>This is after two neutral runs and a pacifist where they were forced to reset due to a "mysterious outer force" or, an anomaly, as Sans would call it.</p><p>Alternative title: Frisk learns that Sans is weirdly dependable when they're in the middle of giving up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	undetermined [the fourth reset]

**Author's Note:**

> This series is definitely being told out of order. This is Frisk's Fourth Reset. In the YCTM series, Frisk can't control their Resets. Neither can Chara. They can only control loads, saves, and continues. No quitting allowed.

Frisk dies over and over and over to the monsters hunting them in the core.

It’s the end of their tenth attempt when they just stare blankly ahead at the void of their non-existence.

Their hand hovers over the word continue before they let it fall limply to the side.

“What’s the point…” they mutter over and over to themself as they slowly raise their hand and mash it against the continue button so hard that the word practically shatters into existence around them.

They wish they could quit.

Frisk lets out a shaky breath.

Just a little more.

They step through the door and come face to face with Mettaton.

They could scream when Mettaton announces his intention to fight them.

Well.

They actually do scream and it seems to startle Mettaton so much that he looks worried. It is all just a show after all. It’s not like the human will die.

Halfway through the dance, the fight, Frisk’s soul shatters.

They bite their lips so hard that they bleed but try again, try to smile harder, try to put on an even better show for Mettaton’s audience.

“Just a little more….” They keep repeating to themself.

They die again.

And again.

They eventually succeed. Somehow they know Mettaton will be alright and their smile is somewhat manic by the time they ride the elevator to the citadel.

The monsters there are nice. No one is jumping to fight them.

It looks like the kid is thinking, ‘Maybe it’s because they know that I’m going to die no matter what happens, so it doesn’t matter if they try or not.’

They eventually make it to the Kings house. Their whole body is shaking and they keep hitting their leg with their fist.

I wince and think maybe I should do something but I don’t.

All emotion is wiped from their face when they open the two boxes in the dead kids’ bedroom. It’s a locket and a knife.

They take it.

“Just a little more..” they mumble.

They trudge on, patiently listening to the tale of the very first human and how they died.

Personally I feel like they should take a nap instead of listening to morbid shit, like all good kids, but I shrug to myself uncomfortably and go further ahead to wait in the corridor to the throne room.

Eventually they make it to the corridor. I’m not sure how they took the story or what exactly was told to them but they look a mess.

Frisk looks to the corridor then to the wall in front of them.

I think they’re saving but...well I don’t ask.

They walk towards me and the look on their face in indescribable.

“Hey kid.”

They jump a little. I guess they were expecting the same speech I made on LOVE and EXP the three times before this.

“Sans….”

Their voice sounds wrecked like they’d been screaming. Or crying a lot. I can’t imagine that so I ignore the thought.

They look like they wanna say something so I wait.

“Remember when Papyrus used his…” their stare managed to get even flatter, “special attack?”

“how could I forget? my heart jumped right outta my chest when he pulled that thing out expecting you to jump over it.”

Heh. The kid also jumped. Like 40 feet. Because I lifted them.

“That...that was the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me? I…”

“woah woah, wait a sec kid. tori takes care of you and a couple of skeletons playing fetch with you is the nicest thing--”

“Toriel killed me!”

Well that happened. I didn’t realize the kid could yell.

“I died over and over and she never spared me! Not even once! Not until I begged and begged and refused to defend myself! I...I hate the smell of meat now. I can’t even..I...And then you find me and you’re kind of creepy--”

“hey”

“And you hide me from your human hunting brother?? But it turns out he’s even nicer than you and really cool! And he refused to hurt me no matter what! And he even held back so much during our fight! And when he slipped up you saved me. And no one..no one..”

At this point I don’t really know what to do.

The kid’s entire body is shaking and tears are pouring out of their eyes in a way that can’t possibly be healthy. They’re holding the knife in a tight grip, palm dangerously close to the blade, and I want to pull it out of their hands.

“um, kid?”

There’s no sign that they’re listening. I stroll over and bodily pick them up and step through a shortcut back to Snowdin. I see the doors to the Ruins opening at the other end of the path. The kid’s warmth feels nice as the curl up against me and try to quiet their crying. I tighten my hold around them and feel more than a little bit protective. They remind you of Papyrus, but not.

I step through another shortcut and disappear just as Toriel sees us disappear.

Only to see my brother with...Flowey? On his shoulder? No way.

Before I know it the world is tinted blue and there is yelling and Flowey is hanging suspended in midair.

“--THER! SANS! STOP IT!”

“oh. whoops.”

I don’t even try to look sorry as I drop the flower to the ground.

I’m still holding Frisk, but they’ve stopped crying. I guess they’re also suspicious of the weed. Smart kid.

Flowey spots Frisk after Pap picks him up and stares blankly at them.

Why are all these kids so weird?

“Why’d you do it this time? Oh I know. Experimenting, huh? I can’t wait until you start killing all of us.”

And that’s the most emotion I’ve ever seen on the flower’s face. It’s anger but...still there. And Frisk really can move fast when they want to. Before I know it they’ve run up the stairs and into Papyrus’ room.

Papy has only barely begun to try to coax Frisk out with Flowey throwing in very insincere sounding apologies before I just take a shortcut in. I laugh at Pap’s outraged yelling. Of course I have a shortcut in here, how else would I get all his undernet passwords.

Strangely enough Frisk is nowhere to been found. At least not immediately.

I pick up a low sound coming from Papyrus’ closet and go towards the door.

“I’m sorry i’m sorry i’m sorry I don’t want to fight i’m sorry please….”

“kid?”

I didn’t know Frisk had all these anxiety...or PTSD...issues. I should note that.

Later, maybe.

Right now they weren’t answering me.

“....frisk?”

I knock twice on the door.

Papyrus groans.

Silence.

I knock again. “hey kid, knock knock.”

I knock again.

“W-who’s there?”

“just”

I wince a little, this isn’t even a real joke. I’m offending my own sense of humor.

“Just...who?”

“just a little more, kid.”

Silence.

I knock.

I hear Flowey moaning about how stupid we all are.

Silence.

The closet door creaks open slightly.

“I don’t wanna.”

Frisk’s eyes are red. Like actually red. Their eyes were brown before, but now they’re red.

“I don’t wanna fight dad and I don’t wanna fight stupid Azzy--” “HEY!” “And I don’t wanna leave and have it all go back to the stupid Ruins.”

I blink and keep smiling because I’m not sure who I’m talking to anymore. This is Frisk right? I’ve never heard them talk like this before.

They blink and their eyes are brown again.

“I...don’t wanna do even just a little bit more. Can’t I just stay here and hang out with you and Papyrus…....like before?”

Like before. I guess they meant like the last couple of resets when we’d just hang out and play together after we got out of the Underground.

I hate this.

“You know that won’t make the anomaly happy pal,” they shiver. I can’t even imagine dealing with being directly under something’s control. Hell, I can barely deal with indirectly being controlled.

“...I know.”

“but uh. maybe we can do things differently this time.”

They look curious.

I wink at them.

“I have an idea. No fighting Asgore.”

They’re not smiling but it’s the happiest I’ve seen them in a while.

I tell Pap to gather everyone at the castle and he looks very confused at me...well doing something. I’m a little insulted. I do things. Plenty.

I don’t bother walking back and I take a shortcut with Frisk and Flowey back to the castle. We make our way down to the admittedly creepy basement where he keeps all the human souls.

“well. go for it.”

Both Flowey and Frisk look at me like I’ve lost it.

“what? you can get the souls and then nicely ask all the monsters for a loan so you can become lord furry and break the barrier.”

Flowey looks too angry to speak. I feel a little satisfied at that.

Frisk let’s out a pained, frustrated noise and throws their knife to the ground so hard it clatters away from them. I’ve moved to the opposite side of the room from them before I realized it and so had Flowey. I wonder why we react like this to Frisk. Must be a learned reaction. From what I’m not sure I wanna know.

“heh well. anyway. things don’t have to be so hard y’know kid?”

They’re glaring at me.

“your stares go right through me kid.”

They’re still glaring.

“not my fault you didn’t think of it”

They leave the room.

I’m impressed with myself. I’ve managed to frustrate Frisk of all people.

“You’re...wow.” And those are Flowey’s final words before taking the souls. I watch him make his way up the stairs before taking a shortcut into the throne room and pretending I’d been there all along. Somehow the kid manages to glare directly at the spot I stepped into. I smile wider than I had before. They seem pretty upset.

They glare at...no not really at me. They don’t seem like they’re mad at me. I’m just a convenient spot to look in without causing problems. They glare through me while Flowey asks for the souls to break the barrier and becomes the...absolute...yeah not saying that.

The slightly older version of Prince Asriel sprouts up, breaks the barrier and then he runs away to turn back into a soulless weed.

We’re walking down the mountain when I finally address the kid who hasn’t stopped looking angry.

“sup kid?”

“You...guys didn’t need me.”

“huh?”

“You didn’t need me to break the barrier? I didn’t need to die all those times? I could’ve just...thought up a plan? Like you?”

Didn’t...need them?

“frisk? we...we definitely don’t need you.”

They look down at their shoes and stop walking.

“we don’t need you frisk. we want you around and we are always gonna want you around, buddy. i don’t know if you get it but it’s not about needing when it comes to this stuff.”

They have a look on their face I didn’t like.

“the only reason my plan worked is because you were there. flowey would never listen to just me. he had a soul once. he knows you. he remembers what it was like to have feelings. nothing would’ve changed underground without you.”

I feel helpless and I feel my cheekbones heat up as I say what I wish someone told me through all of Flowey’s resets and Frisk’s adventures.

“You’re important, you know that right?”

They look at me and it’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.

“I didn’t need to die though...I could’ve done something else. I didn’t...I...I wish I...Why didn’t I die when I jumped in?”

I feel the magic in my body turn to ice.

“...”

I don’t have a response.

Frisk is looking at their feet and shaking slightly.

I pick Frisk up and let them push their face as far as they could into my hoodie and I lie because how could I know what would happen.

“just a little more, kid. it’ll all be better soon.”

**Author's Note:**

> Frisk and Sans are good friends, but don't know each other to the point of being besties yet. Give them a few more resets. Also this isn't gonna be Frisans. At all. Maybe aro-ace Frisans. The QPP + best friendship. Maybe.


End file.
